Our God Who Speaks in Silence – Michael Austin
In a world saturated with noise, the golden virtue of silence is constantly violated. The dictatorship of noise has created an impression that has led many to see it (i.e., noise) as a virtue and silence as a vice. This is rather unfortunate. A look at our history as Christians and human beings shows that on multiple occasions when God wanted to do anything important, He resorted to carrying this out in silence. This is because silence is an important language of Him and of His heavenly dwelling place.
The creation of the world is the first instance of the action of God done silently. We are told that when He was creating the universe, He simply said, “Let there be this” or “Let there be that,” and there was “this” or “that” (cf. Gen. 1). So simple, so beautiful, and silently done. If many humans were in God’s shoes as creators, you can be sure that the art of creation would have been a very noisy, pompous, and showy affair.
In the story of the salvation of man after the fall of Adam and Eve, the prophets played an important and indispensable role. One of such prophets was Elijah. As was common in those days and even now, true prophets like him were persecuted. He particularly suffered from the evil machinations of the wicked queen Jezebel and the prophets of Baal. In one instance of his flight from Jezebel, recorded in 1 Kings 19, he ran into the wilderness and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He had had enough of the opposition of his adversaries and asked God that he should die. After being calmed down and given food by an angel of the Lord, he was encouraged by God to continue his journey to Mount Horeb (Sinai), where God was to pass by. We are then informed that the prophet did not feel the presence of God in the whirlwind that blew, and neither was God in the earthquake or fire. He was rather in the “sheer silence” (cf. 1 Kings 19:12). Silence, as portrayed by this event, is not only the language of God but also His abode.
Coming down to the fullness of redemption wrought by God, we once again see a concrete display of the divine trait of silence. The Annunciation of the birth of Christ (cf. Luke 1:26-28) was done in a calm and serene atmosphere, without any fanfare or air of festivity and grandiosity. The Angel Gabriel simply appeared to Mary and first greeted her. Then he told her she would conceive and bear a Son who would be named “Emmanuel” (God-with-us). After this, Mary never made any noise about the fact that she was to give birth to Christ, the Saviour of the world. She did not even tell her future husband Joseph. She is a shining example to us in the school and science of silence. Another woman would have seen the need to inform the man she was betrothed to, for fear of being divorced. But Mary let God do the talking to Joseph in a dream (cf. Matt 1:20-25), which is also a silent means of passing a message across.
And then in our day-to-day life, we are witnesses to the fact that many conflicts have been averted because people resorted to silence. At times, the loudest way to speak is by remaining silent. Marriages, friendships, acquaintances, and many other human relationships have been saved because one or both parties chose the noble path of silence in the face of serious provocation. This is not to say that silence solves all problems. Sure, there are times when silence is not golden. But this does not negate the reality that silence is a time-tested truth and that it has been the solution to myriads of problems in the tortuous journey of life.
The need for silence, based on the foregoing, cannot be over-emphasized. We should make the conscious effort to be silent at times when this is opportune and required. This is because it is necessary for us to hear the voice of God. We cannot listen to Him when our inner and outer selves are disturbed by noise. Being silent leads us to know Him, and as He Himself says: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Romano Guardini is, therefore, so correct when he says: “…the greatest things are accomplished in silence”.
As Christians, we are called to imitate God. Our Holy Book tells us in more than one instance to be holy and perfect just as the Lord our God is Holy and Perfect (cf. Lev. 11:4; 11:45; 19:2; 20:26; Deut. 23:14; Matt. 5:48; 1 Pet. 1:16). Silence is one of the characteristics of holiness. The silence of heaven is the silence of God, and this silence speaks eloquently to us, if and only if when we dispose of ourselves with an attitude of holy quietude.